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Diagnosis of C. difficile infection

Early diagnosis and treatment of CDI are crucial in preventing complications
and controlling the spread of infection. CDI is a clinical diagnosis derived by
considering patient risk factors, symptom progression, and data from laboratory
tests. There are a number of different laboratory tests and algorithms that can
be used to aid in the diagnosis of CDI. Because C. difficile is a toxin-mediated
disease, a laboratory must include a test for C. difficile toxin in any testing
scheme. Due to high levels of asymptomatic carriage for toxinogenic C. difficile
among patients in hospitals and long term care facilities (up to 50% carriage rate)
it is essential that only specimens from clearly symptomatic patients are submitted
for laboratory testing.